Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1998/01/14
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In a message dated 98-01-14 15:58:11 EST, you write:
> Hello all.
>
> Yesterday I met someone who wanted to downsize his equipment and was
> selling a few Leica pieces. He had what appeared to be an almost Mint on
> the outside 90mm Elmarit 2.8 M lens which I was interested in. I then
> looked at the glass. There were no external scratches on either side but I
> saw 2 tiny lens separation marks. He told me that he brought it to someone
> that said that I would never notice these marks in my pictures at all and
> it's a sharp lens. I always worry about buying things like that. Can
> anyone help me out? The price was amazing though...I think...$300.00 with
> caps. Let me know any thoughts.
>
> Gabe
You don't specify if this is a latest-version Elmarit
(E46 filter, pull-out lenshood) or the early one from 1959-74, or perhaps even
a 90 Tele-Elmarit. If it's either of the earlier versions I'd personally take
a pass because the price isn't all that much less than an optically-perfect
copy can be had for. If it's the latest 90 2.8, I'd buy it with a 14-day MBG
and take it or send it 2nd-day air to a qualified Leica technician for an
expert opinion. Or, you could shoot a test roll and scrutinize it under an 8x
loupe...but even if the slides look fine, if elements have a separation
happening you must be certain it's not going to get worse and for that I'd
still want an expert to look at it. Of course $300 is a good price for a new-
version 90 that shoots perfectly...but very expensive for a paperweight!